


A Place Further than the Universe

by tsundo



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsundo/pseuds/tsundo
Summary: Shockwave, a 38 year old energy scientist and marine biologist, has been working almost their entire life towards this one moment, this one expedition that may change the world forever. When presented with the opportunity to explore a new source of energy that is sustainable, they travel to Antarctica, meeting a dock worker, Orion Pax, on the way and the two develop an unlikely friendship together that grows into something much more wonderful.
Relationships: Orion Pax/Shockwave, Skyfire/Starscream (Transformers)
Kudos: 10
Collections: kage's shockop fics





	A Place Further than the Universe

They almost can’t believe it. They grip the letter in their delicate hands as the red stamped letters saying “APPROVED” are standing right there in front of their eyes. They shakily set the letter down on their desk and remove their glasses, leaning back in their seat and trying to hold their excitement which they could barely contain. Their leg bounces up and down, desperately trying not to have an outburst that’s deemed them so unbecoming of a scientist but the second they look at the letter again even briefly they throw all those personal judgements out the window and they shoot out of their seat, letting out a cry of triumph and bound out the room, letter in hand. Their fellow scientists are confused for a moment, stopping their work and looking at them expectantly until they hold out the letter and the tallest one among them speaks up. 

“It’s been approved?” he asks, his hands on the shoulders of a shorter, darker skinned scientist who was waiting for an answer. 

“Yes!” they exclaim. “The expedition’s been funded! We’re going to Antarctica!”

* * *

_For the past 15 years, I have been hoping to fund an expedition to the Antarctic to discover a new energy source that may solve this planet’s upcoming energy crisis. I’ve spent the last 15 years watching the planet deteriorate in energy use. Countless wars over an energy source that is going to soon run out, the amount of pollution that comes from these finite resources… It needs to change. Soon. I’ve tried to come up with solutions to solve this upcoming crisis but we_ _do not have the funding_ _. Solar, wind, geothermal, wave, all these renewable sources but they are not sufficient enough to replace the amount of energy we consume annually. I’ve found a solution that may save us though. A species of phytoplankton that only grows in the Antarctic. The sample I had years ago was not enough, I didn’t have enough_ _time_ _to research all its properties, its uses, how we can reproduce them. I am not saying it is a permanent solution. But I’m hopeful it will buy us the time and money to advance the true renewable technology and eliminate our need for fossil fuels forever. This is my goal. And I intend to pursue it to the very end._

_\- Shockwave_

* * *

The moment they set foot into their apartment, they begin packing for the expedition. Toothbrush? Check. Warm clothing? Check. Thermal underwear? Wait a moment, where was that. Aha! Found it. They clutch the thermal underwear close to themselves for a moment as they process fully what just happened today and they bring a hand to their mouth to muffle a sob as tears of joy threatened to surge forward. The day finally came. After all these years, trying to fund this expedition, to find the solution to what this planet was suffering from finally within their grasp. All these years living in Jhiaxus’ shadow, of being pushed aside, never being taken seriously, had all paid off. The first instinct that comes to mind is to contact their old friend, Dai Atlas. Someone he’d met at an environmental rally and again at the university Shockwave used to work at. A leader calling for change, for green energy to be implemented, an environmentalist initially turned politician. Although Dai Atlas never really took action, he had solutions for some instances, but in most debates in his political career he had never voiced his disagreements properly. His passiveness was what drove Shockwave to relentlessly pursue this expedition. There’s a quiet clutter that breaks them out of their thoughts and a small chirr comes from the floor as soft fur rubs against Shockwave’s legs. They look down and smile, picking up their cat that nuzzles into their touch. 

“I’m gonna be gone for a few months, baby girl,” Shockwave says fondly, the cat clinging onto them as they held her closely. “But I’ll be back.“ There’s a little murr again and the cat nudges her forehead into their chin. The cat then pushes off of their chest and sits in the suitcase, as if she knew they were going to leave. “Dai Atlas will take care of you, I have to call him though.” They continued to pack for the trip and went over their roster and where they would meet up with everyone. The research team was going to meet in Australia for instance, where they would embark on the icebreaker set for Antarctica. 

The next few weeks go by, the research team training for the excursion, knowing Antarctica was a harsh and cold landscape. Being unable to work properly and getting caught out in this climate meant death. They go down to the docks to check out the ship that the research team would be taking for the voyage, touring the ship throughout and learning the interior, memorising every inch of it and meeting up with the captain. After seeing everything was in order, they went home to wait for the real departure date. 

They meet everyone at the docks down in Australia, just as planned, the ship towering before them. They see their colleagues boarding, pulling their own luggage up the stairs. Starscream and Skyfire, the main researchers of Shockwave’s research team, were the first to go up on the ramp. Next were Shockwave’s interns, Skids, Damus, and Trailbreaker. The three wave towards Shockwave when they see them and they smile back, waving at the three interns. They were Shockwave’s children after all. And their successors.

It was difficult at first, especially with adopting 6 children, but Shockwave saw greatness in all of them, all who were considered late in the adoption world, all teenagers in high school who weren’t wanted, weren’t young enough. Shockwave didn’t care though. Skids, Damus and Trailbreaker being adopted at 16, Shockwave’s eldest, Soundwave, at 17, and Thundercracker and Skywarp at age 15, all when Shockwave was 30. Shockwave did their best raising them for the last few years of childhood, the thought of regret always lurking in the back of their mind, wishing they had more time to raise them. Soundwave, being the oldest, went into the workforce as a communications major, with their black cat and trained falcon (they had volunteered at an aviary rescue where they were tasked to raise the raptor before settling into communications) and had politely declined to go on the expedition when Shockwave first brought the idea up with them. Skids, Damus and Trailbreaker were all close, in age and in general. Of course, the three were now in their early 20s, having gotten out of university and Damus working with Shockwave as an intern. Skids had gone into work as a theoretical physicist, taking his own path. Then the last two children Shockwave had raised were Thundercracker and Skywarp, the youngest out of the six at 15 when the duo were adopted. The two had taken a liking to Starscream when Shockwave introduced them to him, Starscream ended up liking them so much that he considered the two as little brothers he never had. Nonetheless, Thundercracker and Skywarp didn’t want to go on the expedition, dealing with senior year of university and working hard towards their degrees, not to mention the two weren’t as interested in Shockwave’s expedition as their siblings. 

They think fondly of their children, to the point they completely spaced out and forgot where they were, not paying attention to the person in front of them and they almost bumped into her by accident. In an attempt to avoid collision, they fall back onto the wooden platform in surprise on their butt. A man rushes over from aside, having seen what happened and helps them up, lending a hand. They blink for a moment and look at the man in front of them. He seems to be a dock worker, dark wavy hair tousled to the side, brown eyes that seemed to glimmer in the sunlight, sunkissed tan skin contrasting against his navy Carhartt shirt and red jacket. His expression is hidden under a black sick mask but his eyes tell Shockwave that he’s worried. They take his hand and they’re pulled up swiftly, his hand gripping theirs tightly, muscles rippling to pull them up smoothly. Even in that split moment they feel his strength and rough hands that had seen _years_ of work before they’re stable and he lets go.

“Are you alright?” the dock worker asks. His voice was deep, gravelly and powerful. Shockwave wets their lips and opens their mouth before shutting it and then opens it again after clearing their throat.

“Yes, thank you,” Shockwave replies. They stand rigid before him and bow slightly before the dock worker scoffs, eyes smiling and goes back to work. They dust themselves off and clear their throat in embarrassment, turning back to the ramp and drag their suitcase up onto the ship’s deck. Shockwave enters the interior of the ship and makes their way to their room, stepping over the silver bar on the bottom and making their way to the bed. They begin to unpack their luggage and immediately set it into the cabinets before locking everything up and securing everything. They huff and place their hands on their hips as they look at everything and leave the room, heading towards the common room with all their research plans and set up the map as well as everything required for meetings with Shockwave’s fellow researchers. They move back out onto the deck and see their kids hanging out near the railing, looking out into the ocean. Skids is the first among them to see Shockwave and waves towards them. 

“Hey, dad,” Skids says with a smile. 

“I’m glad you could make it to this expedition,” Shockwave smiles, hugging their son. “I hope it wasn’t too much of a hassle to get down here especially since you had to… well, take a few months off from your job.”

“Dad, any opportunity to go to Antarctica… I’ll take in a heartbeat. Plus I helped fund some of this expedition so I have to go see it for myself, right?” Skids replies, chuckling. Shockwave laughs and looks over towards Trailbreaker, who’s currently leaning on the railing. 

“And how have you been, Teebs?” Shockwave asks, using a nickname that they and his siblings used fondly.

“Oh, you know, just been working… There isn’t really anything interesting going on at my work,” Trailbreaker replies. Skids rolls his eyes and nudges Shockwave.

“He has a lot he wants to talk about, he’s just trying to be cool,” Skids says.

“Hey!” Trailbreaker exclaims, no longer leaning on the railing. Shockwave laughs at the two brothers bickering and goes over to give Trailbreaker a hug, which Trailbreaker happily reciprocates.

“Where’s your brother?” Shockwave then asks, looking at both of them.

“Damus is down near the engines, he’s taking a look at the machinery and with the engineers to make sure everything is working,” Skids replied. 

“I suppose I’ll say hi to him when we have the chance,” Shockwave says. “Have we gotten all of the supplies?”

“Looks like it. We managed to pick a good time to go down there, it’s summer down there currently so it won’t be as cold as it is in winter.”

“Won’t get to see the southern lights though since we get so little night over there,” Trailbreaker adds. 

“We’ll be leaving before winter sets in since we were given only a few months to go down there so we’ll have to make the best of it,” Shockwave sighs. “Has anybody had doubts about this expedition?”

“Well, yeah,” Skids replies. “Plenty of the crew are doubtful, I think all of us have those doubts. Not enough funding, not enough people, we were lucky to get the station in the first place.”

“We know you’ve been working towards this for 15 years though, dad,” Trailbreaker then says. “So honestly even if we might not have enough funds, the fact we’re able to go there is great.”

“I think as long as all of us are dedicated, we should be fine,” Skids adds. “We certainly are, I think a lot of us can honestly say no matter what happens, we’ll make sure it goes through.”

“It’s nice to hear my kids supporting this, it’s reassuring, honestly,” Shockwave sighs. “Well, I’ll see all of you at dinner, have you found your rooms yet?”

“Yup, a fair amount of us have our own rooms actually, y’know, with how little people we have, although some are bunking together,” Skids replies. 

“Glad to know you have a lot of room then,” Shockwave smiles. “I’ll be exploring the ship more but if you need me, I’ll be on deck most likely.” They leave to go to another part of the ship, making their way to the second deck this time, walking down the long corridor.

The ship shifts unexpectedly, throwing Shockwave off of their balance and they stumble, before someone reaches out, a red jacket sleeve entering their peripheral vision. They’re pulled back into someone’s chest before colliding into the railing and a deep chuckle came from behind. 

“Wouldn’t want to go overboard now,” he says. Shockwave freezes and the man let go, knowing they were stable now. They whirl around to see the dock worker from earlier. Their face flushes in embarrassment and straighten themselves up, clearing their throat. There was an awkward silence between the two until Shockwave finally spoke up.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” they confess, pink dusting their cheeks. 

“Oh, so you remember me?” the dock worker says, hiding a smile beneath his black sickmask. How could they not? He was the most handsome man they’ve ever seen. They don’t notice that he’s holding his hand out to introduce himself for a second, blinking and taking it. ”Orion Pax,” he smiles. It was interesting. How his eyes could hold so much emotion. Quick, reply before it gets awkward again. 

“Shockwave,” they reply curtly. 

“Ah, so you’re the one who’s leading this expedition,” Orion says. 

“Yes… Are you part of the crew that is going to Antarctica?” Shockwave then asks, knowing most dock workers didn’t exactly go on the ship embarking somewhere else. Usually they’d work at one specific dock, hauling goods onto a ship or off of it to prepare for delivery into the city. It was a stupid question if anything but Shockwave had a quiet hope that this Orion would be on the expedition with them to Antarctica. But they remembered that they’d need help from dock workers specifically trained for this expedition to help haul off supplies to the station with how little expedition members there were. The dock workers would stay on the ship regardless but for the, albeit, little time they’d be spending in Antarctica it was better to stay safe.

“I am. A good friend and I saw the opportunity and took the chance. After all, it’s not every day that you get to go to Antarctica. The training was long but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” Shockwave didn’t understand why their heart fluttered like that upon hearing that. 

“I’m glad to know we have someone like you on the team,” Shockwave replies with a smile. “I hope your friend enjoys this trip as much as you do as well,” they say. 

“Orion!” an unfamiliar voice calls out from aside. Shockwave turns to see a dark skinned woman, well around their height, if not taller, approaching the two. “Figured you’d be taking a break up here. And you’re already making friends already?” she says, hitting his shoulder in a friendly manner. 

“I take it you are Orion’s good friend?” Shockwave then asks. 

“I see you’re already acquainted,” she smiles. She then held her hand out for Shockwave to shake. “Elita, nice to meet you. From what I’m seeing I’m guessing you’re one of the researchers?” Shockwave laughs as they shake her hand. 

“You could say that, I’m Shockwave, the head of the research team,” they reply. 

“Well, then thank you for the opportunity. I’ve never been to Antarctica before and I’ve always wanted to see the lights down there,” Elita says. 

“Unfortunately, we might not be able to see them during our time down there, summer isn’t when the lights are out. We’d have to be there during the winter and it’s much more dangerous to be there when it is that season,” Shockwave answers with a sigh. “I’m on the same boat with you, though, Elita. I’d love to see the southern lights.”

“Well, then maybe if this expedition is successful, they’ll let you go on another one,” she says, patting Shockwave’s arm. “And you better take us with you,” she then smiles, walking off as she points at them briefly.

“I suppose I should get back to work as well,” Orion says, clearing his throat. “It was a pleasure meeting you, doctor.” Doctor? Well, they did have that title but hearing it coming from him felt rather weird. Part of them wishes he’d called them Shockwave. He gives them a nod and walks off after that, Shockwave left with the feeling of butterflies in their stomach. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely inspired by the anime "A Place Further than the Universe". I fell in love with the concept of an expedition and the idea of doing research in Antarctica sounds so cool. Buckle in cus this is definitely going to be a slow burn fic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, I really really like this idea, I've been toying with it since last year honestly. I finally finished this chapter so feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think!


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